Condition Report

(Level 1) Our Condition Reports put your mind at ease when buying your next home.

Condition Reports are ideal for flats, new build homes or those that have been built within the last five years. This report is a cheaper alternative to the Homebuyers Report that provides an overview of a property’s overall condition on the date of inspection. It also offers more detail than the basic mortgage valuation from a lender.   

We provide Condition Reports to homes within Stamford and surrounding counties, including Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Rutland and Northamptonshire. 

Even when seeking a mortgage on a property, you may still be paying for a Mortgage Valuation report – however, we recommend arranging your own Condition Report anyway. Both the consumer group Which? and the Council of Mortgage Lenders provide this advice too. The reason for this is simple: the Mortgage Valuation report is prepared solely for the needs of the lender, and not for the borrower. The report contains only the answers to the lender’s questions in regards to the appropriate securities on your loan application. Therefore, you cannot rely on this report to answer the questions of the overall state of the property or meet your personal interests.

What’s included in the Condition Report?

• Visual inspection of the buildings overall construction and condition.
• Summary of serious defects that need urgent attention and which may pose a safety hazard. 
• Details of elements that require further investigation to prevent serious damage to the fabric of the building.
• Information for conveyancers and risk ratings.

Along with inspecting the visible interior and exterior areas, we look at permanent outbuildings and boundary structures. Within the Condition Report, we’ll also include any planning and building control issues and access rights that should be investigated by your solicitor before you exchange contracts. The report itself breaks the home down into each of its elements. For example, an inspection of the roof will include an initial description of its location and construction element and then any subsidiary roof areas.  

There will be a description of any parts that are defective, details of the problem followed by the extent of the problem and its relative rating, which is broken down to Condition Rating 1, 2, 3 or R.

Condition Ratings Explained

Condition Rating R 

Documents we might suggest you request before you sign contracts.

Condition Rating 1 

This rating means that no element has been identified as a risk and therefore no repair is currently needed and that the property can be maintained in the normal way.

Condition Rating 2  

This rating identifies defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent and that the property can be maintained in the normal way.

Condition Rating 3  

This rating means there are defects which are serious and need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently.